Drake University

2507 University Avenue

Des Moines, IA 50311

800-44-DRAKE

515-271-2011

Home > Tour the Colleges! > Iowa > Drake

The Acting Program At...

Drake

The acting program offers students the techniques and skills necessary to work as professional actors in the field. The curriculum exposes students to multiple performance methods and styles encouraging students to discover, or even create, the system that works best for them. In addition, students are required to take courses in all aspects of theatre production giving them an appreciation and deeper understanding of the collaborative nature of the art.

The acting program offers a tremendous number of performance opportunities for students to apply skills and techniques they have learned in the classroom to work on the stage. Between larger main stage theatre production and smaller Student Theatre Productions, the Department produces approximately 20 different shows each academic year.

FACULTY:

The Department of Theatre Arts is comprised of seven full-time faculty members, six have earned the highest degrees in their fields. All full-time faculty are engaged in teaching classes from the introductory to advanced levels. The inclusive nature of the curriculum means that students will take classes from every member of the Department of Theatre Arts as they pursue their degree.

ACADEMIC PREPARATION:

There are no prerequisite high school courses or requirements needed for enrollment in the theatre program, but students should have a well-rounded academic high school curriculum. Previous involvement in high school and/or community theatre is strongly recommended.

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:

Acting students will need to prepare two contrasting monologues; these pieces must be memorized. It is recommended that one piece should be comedic in nature; the other should be serious. Select roles that are fairly close to your own age range and try to avoid unnecessary challenges such as accents, etc. Each monologue should be approximately 2 minutes in length.

Musical Theatre students must prepare two songs in addition to their two monologues, one upbeat song and one ballad. Each song, or section of a song, should be approximately 32 bars in length. The monologues should be approximately 2 minutes in length.

An accompanist will be provided for group auditions. Please bring your music marked up where appropriate and in the correct key. If you are attending an audition on an individual basis please bring a recorded accompaniment on tape or CD.